increasing complaints at the Saher traffic cameras system of fining motor offenses, a member of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has called for all outstanding fines to be waived. Matouq Al-Shareef said there was “no proper awareness campaign” prior to Saher's introduction. “There were no new speed limit signs on the roads, only old ones that in many cases are not clearly legible,” he said. “Also, the increasing of fines for non-payment is nonsensical given the high rate of unemployment among young people.” Al-Shareef proposed painting “clearly legible speed limits on road surfaces and in several languages”. “Everyone needs to understand them, Arabs and non-Arabs,” he said. “It's unreasonable to fine motorists without the relevant authorities having first carried out a complete awareness campaign. There should first be a trial period in which drivers are given warnings by text message without any fines,” he said. Drivers lament not just the lack of speed limit signs but also question the legality of a system in which offenders are often not even aware of the law they are told they have broken. They also wonder whether the same rules apply to Saher operators themselves. “I was driving along when I suddenly saw one of the Saher mobile camera vehicles stationed on the central island of a main road, holding up traffic in a clear violation of the rules,” said Sa'ad Al-Shehri. “Does the Traffic Department fine the Saher operating companies for stopping in the middle of the road and being a potential cause of accidents, I wonder?” Lawyer Nawwaf Aal Ghalib believes that the current system of operation in which fines are recorded in the name of the vehicle owner and not necessarily the driver who committed the offense, is against the law. “Articles 81, 67, 73 and 75 of the Basic Law state that the offender has the right to object to the penalty with the relevant authorities, that three copies of the violation should be made with one provided to the offender, and that the offender has the right to object to it before the relevant court within 30 days of the violation being issued,” he said. Under the current system, if fines are not paid on time, they automatically increase without any recourse to complaint as described by Aal Ghalib. ‘Don't believe it!' With reservations over the fairness and effectiveness of the fining system seemingly increasing by the day, the Traffic Department issued a statement on the Saher website saying that all complaints can be taken up with the Traffic Violations and Disputes Commission at General Security headquarters in Riyadh. The procedure is not to everyone's liking, however. “Why would I want to spend around three months just to prove to the Traffic Department that my 300-riyal speeding fine was a mistake, and spending more money to do that than the fine itself?” asked incredulous motorist Ibrahim Al-Harbi. “I wouldn't bother.” Al-Harbi said that he wants to see a “legal authority or law firm” to take on the complaints of motorists. “Imagine if everyone who had a complaint actually took it to the authority,” Al-Harbi said. “They'd be a never-ending waiting list just getting bigger and bigger. It would only make things worse.” A common perception is expressed in the words of skeptic Muhammad Al-Ghamdi. “The whole point of Saher is to make money,” he said. “If it was really to protect people then they'd put up signs saying that cameras are in the area, but they only do that at the most dangerous spots.” He said that speed limits should be set “once and for all on highways and even on inner-city streets”. “It's no good just leaving it up to the Saher company, which is only concerned with making money, to just make up speed limits as it pleases.” Riyadh Traffic Police chief Abdul Rahman Al-Muqbil says, however, that this is a misconception. “It's not true that the Saher operating company sets the speed limits on roads,” he said. “Not even the regional traffic departments which are tasked with the daily supervision of the companies set them. First we gather statistics from city mayoralties and the Ministry of Transport on danger areas and then compare them with Traffic Department figures on motor accidents recorded at those locations, and then speed limits and traffic camera points are determined by a committee.” In response to complaints from the public at Saher mobile camera vehicles parking illegally and in areas holding up traffic, Al-Muqbil said: “Believe me, all the cars belonging to the Saher system and out on the streets are monitored, and they are not allowed to move from their designated sites without permission given directly from the regional traffic department. We have it under our control and monitor it closely and continuously.” Saudi Gazette reported Monday that Makkah Police chief Muhammad Al-Harithy had reservations over the speed with which Saher was introduced. “Everyone agrees on the benefits of the Saher system,” he said, “but bringing it into operation so quickly might have had a number of detrimental effects”. He said the Traffic Department should have introduced the system by first “preparing the public properly and promoting awareness” and lamented that “tens of thousands” of motoring offenses had been committed by persons unable to pay the fines. “The majority were not able to pay, and most cars in our streets are driven by persons employed as drivers or who are the sons of the car owners, so the fines end up being in the name of sponsors and fathers, not the persons who committed the offenses,” he said. He concluded by saying that the system of fining needed “a rethink”.
